Chinese Art

History of the Collection

Lancaster University's collection includes examples of seventeenth century Chinese art as well as works by twentieth century Chinese artists. These items were collected by the eminent scientist and Honorary Research Fellow at Lancaster University, Professor Irène Manton FRS. Professor Manton first began to collect art after visiting an exhibition of Chinese Art at the Royal Academy of Arts in London in 1935. As a scientist she was particularly interested in the detailed studies of nature produced by Chinese artists.

Works in this collection include scroll and fan paintings, ink rubbings, and prints. A wide range of these works have been shown at the gallery in the exhibition ' The Qi and the Yun: The Essence of Chinese Painting', which has also toured to other venues in the UK. Among the artists whose work was represented were Zhao Shao-Ang, Ch'I Pai-Shih, Xu Beihong and Zao Wu-Ki.

Our changing exhibitions focus on different parts of the collection at different times so if there is something you would particularly like to see, please get in touch at gallery@lancasterarts.org.